


The Final Arcana: The World

by angelicscribbles



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: AU, Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Akechi Goro Lives, Alternate Ending, Ami Chowdhury, And he understands what to do, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Happy Ending, I'm Bad At Tagging, Indian Character, Mental Health Issues, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, So Does The OC, alternative ending, sooooo much angst, that’s her name, this is gonna get pretty intricate tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 16:10:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16043930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelicscribbles/pseuds/angelicscribbles
Summary: Goro Akechi fell because he believed that he was a lonesome case in his depravity and desperation. However, what would have happened if he’d witnessed something similar in another palace? Maybe then, he can understand what’s inside of him and narrowly miss what was thought to be inevitable doom, and it’s all thanks to the final arcana.[An alternative ending and Akechi redemption fic, with an emphasis on staying as true to the events in the game as possible whilst allowing akechi to live and realize what he must do to go forward. The ending isn’t in stone, and it may or may not end up with romance. I’ll probably poll when it gets closer to that time.]





	The Final Arcana: The World

The rain bumbled softly to the light music that emanated from under a pile of used blankets. The lights weren’t on, and they rarely were. The girl inside this darken room groaned to herself when she noticed the blinking of her alarm clock, showing she only had 7 minutes to get to the station, or she’d be late. She hadn’t even combed her hair for the day, so the efforts she took to get ready were nearly unrivaled by her abilities to somehow never forget anything she needed either. It’s not that Ami was lazy, she was just so, so tired. After a night of studying the English and Japanese equivalents for back muscles, coupled with the increasing frequency of her visa visits in the governmental district, she’d really wondered why in the world she’d decided to take on this student internship.

“ _It’s not like I get paid for this you know, I can’t get paid for this...”_

She grumbled to herself, reaching the station and gracefully hooking herself into a corner spot as the doors began to close on the subway car. Being a foreign student in a foreign land was no fun when it came to aspects like that, and they’d only continue to pile up if she didn’t tackle them head-on. Still, at least she was away. She was by herself, away from the nagging and impositions of those around her here. This was a chance of redemption, and to prove to anyone and everyone that she was capable of handling this. Sure, it would be hard work, but that’s the easy part.

The hard part is sticking through it, giving it your all everyday and being unrelenting in pursuing your goals. That’s what will make you successful. She knew so, because her father had repeated this mantra so many times to her growing up, she’d even learned to fill the blanks in when he just opened his mouth to recite it. Pressures were still here, and she knew it. They would not leave even if their sources were gone, they were etched into her very being, but at the same time, driving her in her desire to come out on top. Which is why she had to be the best at everything she did, if she couldn’t achieve perfection, then she clearly wasn’t trying hard enough. That’s just the law of the universe, she’d rationalized, that’s how I was taught this world works.

...

To say that Goro Akechi’s recent popularity had sky-rocketed would be the understatement of the century. Suddenly, in the wake of the mental shutdown cases that ravaged the city of Tokyo, this charming, high school aged, princely character had waltzed into the hearts of the public and public prosecutor’ s offices. Determining cases whilst balancing his grades and hobbies, it really did seem like he had it all. The television broadcasters had no issue with playing this up either, his pleasant deposition and smiles were sapped up to the viewers like a desperate insect to sugar water. They craved this charisma, this fresh start up that knew his way as well around deductions as he did smooth-talking crowds. Which is why he too, desired perfection. He needed to make sure not a single thing was out of place before being paraded around to the masses, entertaining them with shallow jokes and commentary. He’d come to lean greatly on the interns of the television station, as they always seemed ready to break their backs for him before the broadcasts.

They’d become a pleasant background noise to him, and nothing much deviated from the norms for him. He liked that consistency, it was something he could rely on, something that wouldn’t try to exploit or betray him. Except it absolutely did on this day, as an intern he’d never seen before stepped through the gate at exactly 1600 hours. Her disheveled hair was tied back in a bun, and she looked at him with unexpectant eyes. Her eyes, they were so much bigger than he’d seen on any of the other interns. Or on most other people in general. Big, inky pools of expression stared right at him for a brief second, and he could feel the strain and anxiety immediately emitting from them.

However, it was never his place to say what to do about their conditions, only what they could do for him. He was there along with them, and could spare them no pity. And at this moment, that was making sure his hair was combed and that he had some coffee before going on stage. Getting his coffee soon by that same, slightly betrodden intern, he focused his energies on reading her nametag.

“Ami, is it? Thank you for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you, Akechi-San? If not, I will be taking my leave.”

So formal, and to the point. Not that he minded that, the flowering and fawning over got a bit tiring after a while.

“I have things to do, so I’d prefer not to waste time.”

Ouch, that was a bit too harsh for him, coming from an intern. No matter, he’d chalk it up to a bad mood and an even worse bad hair day.

“Aha, you’re free to go Ami-San.”

“...wouldn’t you refer to me as “Senpai? I am your elder after all.”

He actually had to think about this one. She? Older? In all her 160 cm glory? That was truly unexpected, but of course, being a detective meant that he needed to anticipate such things.

“Ah, my apologies Ami-Senpai. If you don’t mind my asking, just how old are you?”

“I’m 22.” “Ah, does that mean you are a university student?”

“Yes, I am. I am a nursing student at the University of Tokyo.”

“I’m a bit surprised, you don’t seem to be Japanese so-“

“I’m a foreign student on a visa. It’s alright, everyone asks the questions, so I’ll just take them in stride Akechi-San.”

He smiled a bit at her monotone replies, reassured that he wasn’t offending the intern who’d now taken it upon herself to smoothen out the wrinkles of his beige coat and straighten his tie.

“You’re on in 3 minutes, so I’ll take this coffee from you. If you want a breath mint, ask the other interns because I don’t have one. My apologies.”

“That’s quite alright, thank you for taking the time to care and talk to me, Ami. I hope we may get to talk a bit more.”

Ami didn’t reply. She had no reply to something like that, she hadn’t the faintest clue how to even articulate the proper sentences that wouldn’t cause him to go into a laughing frenzy. Japanese was by no means an easy language to learn, so sometimes she opted for silence instead. It’d be foolish to blurt something in the first tongue she could muster, right? It wasn’t rude, it was just saving herself from future shame. She strode away, and while Akechi was refreshed with their encounter, all Ami coul do was chide herself for not being able to come up with a proper response. This was all too common of an occurrence for her, and it was a shame to see her fall victim to it once again, no matter she may‘ve been.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ❤️
> 
> Ami’s profile and the most recent updates are on my tumblr; https://angelicscribbles.tumblr.com


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